Apparatus for cleaning carcasses



July 31, 1951 A. KURT 2,562,556

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CARCASSES Filed Oct. 25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l I I I :2;m u' srmczuazaazzx 1 INVENTOR FIG. 1 ANTpN KURT July 31, 1951 A. KURT 2,562,556 APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CARCASSES Filed Oct. 25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ANTON KURT Patented July 31, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CARCASSES Anton Kurt, ersey CitygN. J. 7 Application October '25, 1945, Serial No. 624,416

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an apparatus for and method of cleaning animal carcasses in slaughter houses or equivalent places.

In my Patent #2,132,634, issued October 11, 1938, I have shown and described a particular type of apparatus for doing the work of cleaning carcasses in slaughter houses. This patent shows and describes the procedure of moving the carcasses on a conveyor through a closure structure within which it has been found convenient to position the said cleaning apparatus. Since reference may be made to said patent for a description of the conveyor mechanism it will therefore not be necessary to describe the same herein.

It is the principal object of my present application to provide an improved type of cleaning structure which is not only adapted for use with the conveyor apparatus as set forth in my issued patent but which may be used elsewhere. These improvements will be discerned from a reading of the following specification taken in connection with the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure l is a front elevational View on a much reduced scale of my improved apparatus. I

Figure 2 is a View of Figure 1 looking from right to left.

Figure 3 is a view on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a part sectional and part elevational View on a somewhat larger scale from the showing in Figure l of one of the arms feeding the cleaning fluid to the distributing means.

Figure '5 is a part sectional-and part elevational view on a scale commensurate with Figure 4 of the liquid distributing means.

In the various views wherein like numbers refer to corresponding parts, I is a hollow member or pipe shaft supported at its upper end by a suitable fitting 2 to a coupling pipe 9 which is carried by a bearing member 3 fastened to a main support 5 by means of screw studs 46 that pass through a plate 4 and the base member of a fixture having arms 6 that carry a bearing I for a feed pipe or tube E! that passes into a stufiing box 48 carried by pipe 9 and into which the pipe or tube 9 extends. The lower end of the member I is supported by a bearing carried on an inturned end II of a bracket or a support I2 that is fastened to the support 5 by any satisfactory means. The member I2 may be of any desired shape such as a'T-iron as illustrated. To the web I3 there is fastened in a satisfactory manner, as by'welding,

plates I4 and I5, which may be of any'desired shape, two being illustrated in Figure 3. Mounted on the plates I4 and I5 are guide members I 6 be shifted laterally or swung in an are about thefastening screws I8. The outer ends of the guide members It are provided with clearance holes I9 to receive rods 29 the purpose of which will be: later explained.

Fastened to the hollow shaft or tube I, as by welding, are a plurality of collars 2| which are internally threaded to receive the threaded end 22 of their respective arms 23. The arms 23 preferably extend in diametrically opposite directions from the member I and are also preferably arranged in staggered relation as shown in Figure 1. The arms 23 are hollow through which fluid may be supplied from the member I'. Mounted on the outer extremity of the free end of each of the arms 23 is an elbow 24 into which is screwed or otherwise attached a nozzle 25 which act as a liquid distributing means. The elbow 24 is fastened to a tubular. sleeve 26 carried within its arm 23 through the medium of a tubular sleeve 21 which acts as a bearing for the sleeve 26 so the same may be turned therewithin. Packing collars 28, 29, 30 and SI' are utilized to conline the cleanin fluid to the interior of sleeve 26, gland nut 32 forming a part of this fitting. The gland nut 32 is provided with holes 49 to receive a power wrench to tighten it in the place where it is held in position by a lock collar 33 fastened to sleeve 26 by means of a screw 34. By means of this construction just described and reference to Figure 4 it is seen that the elbow 24 and the sleeve 25' are turnable in the arm 23. The nozzle 25 has a sleeve portion 36 attached to the elbow 24. Associated with the sleeve 38 and rotatable thereon is a collar 37 to which is attached the rod '20. The free end of the rod 28 is adapted to enter the hole or opening 19 in the guide member It as indicated in Figures l, 2, and 3.

Connected to the connecting tube or pipe 9 is a fitting 39 to which is attached a connecting rod -that, in turn is connected to a crank rod 40 and this rod is joined to a power driving structure collectively referred to as All. The power drive as indicated is by means of gears 42 and 43 and pulley 44 and belt 45 running to a motor or other driving member. The power drive per se may be any suitable source of power and its method of connection to the connecting pipe 9 may take any appropriate form.

In the operation of the structure as the con-' necting shaft. '9 and the hollow member I are turned the arms 23 are oscillated through some predetermined angle and as the arms 23 are turned or oscillated with the member I the nozzles 25 through the connections described are turned or oscillated through a multitude of continuously varying angles, due to the action of the rods operating in the holes IQ of the guides I6, which, as stated, are adjustable so that the different nozzles may be set in different positions whereby the streams of cleaning fluid are forced toward and against the carcasses being cleaned at almost every conceivable angle. Two positions of one pair of nozzles are indicated in Figure 3. Other positions are indicated in Figure 2. I have found by tests that with this construction the entire surface of an animal carcass can be covered as the carcass is passed by the apparatus on a suitable conveyor such as illustrated in my patent previously mentioned. While I have illustrated in the drawings a structure which has given great satisfaction in practice it will be understood that the details of the construction may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for the purpose described including a single hollow shaft member turnably supported in a vertical position between upper and lower bearings, the lower bearing including a member fixed to a support adjacent the upper bearing and extending downwardly in spaced relation to said hollow member and having an inturned end extending below the hollow member and carrying the lower bearing, hollow arms projecting in difierent directions from the hollow member, a rotatable nozzle located at the end of each of said arms and having a rotatable bearing within its arm, a guide member for each nozzle adjustably supported by said member carrying the lower bearing and means interconnecting said guide members and said nozzles for automatically, continuously and variably changing their direction as said hollow shaft member is turned, said means comprising a sleeve associated with each nozzle, 2. rod connected to the sleeve with the free end of the rod going into a clearance opening in the free end of its guide member.

2. An apparatus for the purpose described including a single hollow shaft member supported for rotation only with automatic means for only partialy rotating it, a plurality of hollow arms extending outwardly from opposite sides of said shaft member, a rotatable sleeve carried within each of said arms and opening into the hollow member, a liquid distributing nozzle carried by .each of said sleeves and having internal connections therewith, means actuated by rotation of ,said hollow shaft member for automatically oscil- ,lating each of said distributing nozzles through .continuously varying 'vertical and horizontal angles in a multitude of directions, said means com- ;prising for each nozzle, an individual adjustable guide member and support therefor and a rod, the rod being slidably connected into an open- :ing in the end of its guide member and operatively .connected to its co-operative nozzle and means :for passing a liquid under pressure into said holilOW shaft member.

.3. An apparatus for the purpose described inrcluding a single hollow shaft member supported .for rotation only with automatic means for only partialy rotating it, a plurality of hollow arms extending outwardly from opposite sides of said member and opening into the hollow shaft member, an L-shaped nozzle structure oscillatably carried by each of said arms to receive fluid therefrom, means actuated by rotation of said hollow shaft member for automatically oscillating each of said nozzle structures through continuously varying vertical and horizontal angles in a multitude of directions comprising for each nozzle, an individual adjustable guide member and support therefor and a rod, the rod being slidably connected into an opening in the end of its guide member and operatively connected to its co-operative nozzle and means for passing a liquid under pressure into said hollow shaft member.

4. An apparatus for the purpose described including a single hollow shaft member supported for rotation only with automatic means for only partially rotating it, a plurality of hollow arms extending outwardly from opposite sides of said shaft member and opening into the hollow shaft member, said arms extending in opposite direction and in stepped relation along the length of said shaft member, an L-shaped member oscillatably carried at the end of each of said arms to receive fluid therefrom, means actuated by rotation of said hollow shaft member for automaticaly oscillating said L-shaped members through continuously varying vertical and horizontal angles in a multitude of directions, said means including an individual adjustable guide member adjustably supported at one end and a rod slidably connected into an opening in the free end of each guide member and operatively connected to its co-operative L-shaped member, a nozzle carried by each L-shaped member and means for passing a liquid under pressure into said hollow shaft member.

5. An apparatus for the purpose described including a single hollow shaft member supported for rotation only with means for only partially rotating it, a plurality of hollow arms extending outwardly from opposite sides of said member and opening into the hollow member, said arms extending in opposite direction and in stepped relation along the length of said member, a hollow L-shaped member carried at the end of each of said arms so it may be turned therein, a detachable nozzle carried by each L-shaped member, a collar carried by each of said nozzles, means for automatically, continuously and variably acting on each of said collars for turning each L-shaped member in numerous and various directions on partial rotation of said shaft member, said means including a positive individual adjustable guide member for each nozzle supported at one end with the other end free and a rod slidably connected at one end into the free end of its guide member and operatively connected at the other end to its collar on its associated nozzle and means for passing a liquid under pressure into said hollow shaft member.

6. An apparatus for the purpose described including a single hollow shaft member having end supports for rotatably mounting it in a vertical position with automatic means for partially rotating it, hollow arms extending outwardly from said shaft member in opposite directions and terminating in hollow parts that may be oscillated in numerous and variable directions and having detachable nozzles, adjustable guide members and end supporting means therefor, a rod slidably operating in each of said guide members and operatively connected to the nozzles to cause said parts carrying the nozzles to automatically oscillate in numerous and various directions as said hollow shaft member is turned as described, said end support carrying the guide members, extends longitudinally of but spaced from said hollow member and having its free end formed in a direction to intercept the axis of said hollow member and carrying a bearing for said member.

ANTON KURT.

REFERENCES CITED Number Re. 22,039 679,383 882,719 1,390,310 1,501,718 1,530,022 1,534,241 1,557,240 1,592,452 1,657,990 1,726,986 1,900,837

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Vaage Feb. 24, I942 Horvath July 30, 1901 Smith Mar. 24, 1908 Plumer Sept. 13, 1921 Olschewski July 15, 1924 Van Dusen Mar. 17, 1925 Nichols Apr. 21, 1925 Butterworth Oct. 13, 1925 Ferris et a1 July 13, 1926 Blouin Jan. 31, 1928 Horten Sept. 3, 1929 Mills ,Mar. 7, 1933 Kurt Oct. 11, 1938 

